Fifteen Minutes
by J. Coburn
Summary: A story about the men and women who go unrecognized for their deaths in battle to protect the Imperium.


I've been training for the past fifteen weeks. Each day was long, and brutal. The drill instructors never let up on us once. The crisp, cold air and the constant snow made the drills even harder. The air could freeze your lungs and turn your skin black. The temperature was well below freezing. The planet was nothing but a frozen wasteland. It was called Sirus IX. The planet had an over abundant supply of fossil fuels and lead. The planet was a gold mine. The techpriests practically drooled over it. The only problem was that the archenemy saw the value as well.

"Hurry up trooper!" Shouted the drill instructor, his face was covered by the same face mask we all wore to protect ourselves from the cold. "If you fall behind I will personally tear you a new one you got it!"

I cried out my acknowledgement and tried to catch up with the rest of my platoon. I ran as hard as I could. This was the last training I have till I am sent out to my first battle. The traitors have pushed us back from our capital and have us retreating back to the edge of the continent. The planetary governor has called for assistance but the closest Guard regiment was near the eye of terror. Sirus IX was at the edge of the halo stars. Help wouldn't come in time.

After two hours worth of marching, the platoon was given ten minutes to rest and then we were marched off to the air strip. We all boarded the drop ships and were lifted to our new stationing. It was a large mining complex that dug down several miles. Massive tunnels were carved out and huge pipes lined the smooth walls going into underground lakes of oil. This was a key location that the mechanicum needed and they were willing to sacrifice everything if only to save this one spot.

The Lieutenant moved us to the north eastern position of the mine entrance. I sat on my rump waiting for the hell to start, whenever that was. Some other soldiers came over and began to play a game of cards.

We made some small talk to keep our minds off of what most likely laid ahead of us. I dealt the cards and sat watching the other, acting as the scorekeeper. The men all had cheery smiles and looked like they were all having fun. In reality, each one was struggling with the one thought that was on there minds; most of these guys would most likely never come back. They, being others and our drill instructors, say that a guardsmen only lasts fifteen minutes in battle on average. If you pass that, you are a good soldier and will die a hero's death. If you last less than that, you're a shame to yourself and the rest of the regiment.

I too thought about my inevitable death. I felt chilled to the bone. Not by the cold around me, but at the fact I was going to die today. I tried to think about the game in front of me but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I closed my eyes and uttered a prayer to the god-emperor. When I finished, the beginning of the end had begun.

01:00

The soldier fell face first on my lap. His blood was on my face mask. I rubbed the blood from my lenses. I quickly grabbed my lasrifle and ran to some cover. The others acted the same. The sergeant cried out that we were under attack. I held the lasrifle in my hands and breathed deeply. I was calm. It was weird but I was calm.

The barks from autoguns roared around us. I peered from around the large plascrete crate I hid behind. There were at least four score or more traitors. The guardsmen around me began to fire back. Some, were killed almost instantly. The traitors were organized and well trained. I trained my rifle on a traitor that was blasting hot lead at my comrades. I fired three shot at him. The first went wide, the second hit the traitor in the throat, the third skinned his helmet. He fell to the ground. I got my first kill in the first minute.

01:01

I hid behind the crate as bullets sprayed my cover, removing any chance of fighting.

01:02

My squad was at half strength now. I was engaged with a three armed man wielding a lascarbine. He shot my arm. I managed to fire at three shots before he would fire a volley back at me. The sergeant killed him I thanked him and searched for another target.

01:03

I lobbed a grenade into a approaching pack of traitors. I managed to kill four of ten. I felt pleased.

01:04

Our eastern flank had been penetrated. The traitors almost managed to surround us if it weren't for the chimera that rolled in just in time. It mowed down the traitors easily. I felt sweat run down my spine despite the cold.

01:05

I exhaled and reassessed my surroundings. The chimera that saved us was laying in ruin as a rocket slammed into the drivers vision slot. Three guardsmen set up a mortar launcher to try to slow the enemy advancement. They were slaughtered by an enemy missile. One of our commissars laid dead on the ground. Morale was breaking.

01:06

Six minutes in. I've survived this long, no matter how short it is. I was drenched in my frozen sweat and blood. I saw an enemy trying to get closer. I aimed at him.

01:07

I fired several controlled bursts at the traitor. Six shots hit. The made two, not including the grenade.

01:08

The sky began to rain balls of fire. One of them was heading for us.

01:09

The archenemy had arrived. Traitor astartes. We were doomed.

01:10

The guardsmen were falling back. I ran too, who wouldn't? The traitor marines walked towards us firing one shot per imperial, each hitting its mark. My fatigues became wet. Emperor save me.

01:11

I was burning. I forgot what had happened.

01:12

Why am I on the ground?

01:13

I felt the hole in my chest. I touched the snow I was laying on through the hole. I looked at the sky. Great balls of fire fell still. The ground beneath me began to vibrate. My vision faded. I blinked. The marine was above me. He looked down. I blinked. I was warm. It hasn't been fifteen minutes. I'm not a hero. A tear rolled down my eyes. The traitor crushed my head with his foot.

No man dies a hero, they only die as men, men dying for a dying Imperium. Dying for a dead Emperor. Each man unknown and recorded as nothing more that a number. No one will remember the men who die each die for a lost cause. Chaos, is an ever present existence.


End file.
